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Grinning Death
The Grinning Death is a dangerous sickness easily capable of wiping out entire kingdoms if allowed to spread unchecked. It is highly infectious, nearly 100% lethal, and incredibly difficult to cure. Historically, it is best known for destroying the kingdom of a wealthy prince, an event that also led to the figure most associated with the disease itself, Malady. Luckily for all that lives, outbreaks of the Grinning Death are rare, even their herald spreading it but infrequently. Symptoms Symptoms progress very quickly after being contracted, with the time between infection and death ranging from several days to half an hour. These symptoms are very distinct, and the progress of the Grinning Death is classified into stages. It should be noted that due to the rapidity of the disease's progression, these stages may overlap, with a victim showing several signs of infection at once. Stage One *Stage one symptoms start almost immediately after infection. The disease attacks the brain, throwing off balance and bringing disorientation, dizziness, and nausea. Breathing problems are sometimes attributed to this stage. Stage Two *During stage two the disease begins to target the victim's immune system, bringing with it an intense fever and severe nausea. This stage not only allows the Grinning Death to progress into stages three and four, but opens them up to numerous secondary infections which hasten death. Additionally, the tissues of the victim begin to decay into an oily black ichor. Stage Three *With the immune system now in tatters, stage three symptoms begin with the brain beginning to lose several higher functions. Victims become delirious, with signs of giddy or even manic behaviour. Hallucinations are not uncommon at this point. Tissue damage continues, with blood, organs and muscle all decomposing into sludge, orifices such as the eyes, ears, nose and mouth beginning to leak this ichor. Those infected begin to show signs of the plague's namesake smile. Stage Four *The final stage of infection begins with a rapid loss of coordination and ends in death, major organs finally shutting down completely as they liquefy or drown in the diseased sludge. The deceased victims are found to be frozen with a wide-eyed, unnaturally large grin frozen on their faces, a result of muscles contracting. Transmission The Grinning Death is highly infectious and can be transmitted from person to person by a great deal of methods. Those in stage one of infection can only transmit the disease through exchange of fluids, but stage two victims may pass it on through physical contact alone. At stage three, the fever results in sweating and the victim can contaminate objects and belongings by touch, along with the danger of infection through contact with the decayed ichor they begin to leak. Finally, by stage three the disease is known to become airborne and transmissible through simply breathing the air nearby infected victims. Treatment Curing the Grinning Death has been the focus of several great doctors, though none have been successful to date. Magic has been shown to be effective in purging the disease from victims anywhere from stage one to three, but such a cure is widely unavailable and often resource-intensive for those able to preform such feats. Most advancement in treatment has been made in the realm of preventing infection. Several forms of incense have been found to neutralize the threat of airborne infection if inhaled, and some materials can be specially treated so as to block the disease from tainting them. Rain is also known to weaken the Grinning Death's ability to spread, and as such storms are one of the best times to deal with the bodies. Category:Fantasy